This short story is a work of fiction. Places, events, and situations in this story are purely fictional.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

It was November 26, 2003. James A. Bryce, a thirty-year-old U.S. Army lieutenant in the Third Infantry,
was on duty in Iraq; he was a loving father of two, and a devoted husband. That afternoon, just outside of
Baghdad, James had witnessed one of the most horrific nightmares of his life: the death of a fellow soldier.

During a hail of gunfire, James quickly dragged the body of his comrade to an empty, makeshift foxhole, where
he sat with the young soldier whose arms had been severed by an Iraqi's planted bomb. James encouraged
the frightened young soldier, while radioing base.

James angrily threw the communicator on the ground. Suddenly, the captain of the infantry called, “Lieutenant Bryce, come in!”

“Lieutenant Bryce,” James acknowledged.

“What is your location?” asked the captain.

James peered out from the foxhole, then quickly crouched down. He answered, “I'm on the East end.”

“Hang tight, we're not far.”

“Captain?” called James.

“Lieutenant,” acknowledged the captain.

“The soldier I've requested the medic for has expired, sir.”

“Copy that, lieutenant,” acknowledged the captain, sadly.

Afterwards, James took the soldier's weapons and ammunition, and placed them beside his body. Then James
whispered a prayer while making the sign of the holy cross over the soldier. Suddenly, he heard what sounded
like an infantry vehicle.

He cautiously peered out from the foxhole and spotted an Iraqi civilian truck. James quickly ducked down,
and began burrowing himself into the sand, covering himself with the body of his comrade.
Just as the Iraqi civilians exited their vehicle and crept up to the foxhole, their weapons drawn,
they were hit by rapid gunfire from the infantry's well-hidden military vehicle, killing them instantly. Their bodies fell into the foxhole on top of the dead American soldier.

James remained still, even after the gunfire had ceased.
Then James heard, “Lieutenant Bryce!” It was an American soldier running towards the
scene with his weapon drawn.
James pulled himself out from underneath the bodies and yelled, “I'm
here!”

James and his comrade were evacuated and taken back to base, where the authorities prepared to
inform the command of the recent casualty.

is registered to a Papercheck account. If you have lost your user name and password, you will need to click the Reset Password button. You will be emailed a confirmation link to complete this action. Your password will not be reset until you confirm your email address.